Efforts of the government of Ekiti State under the leadership of Governor Kayode Fayemi in taking steps to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic has received a national recognition.

Ekiti State has been rated second out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on the COVID-19 State Response Index in a research conducted by an organization, Stears Business, (www.stearsng.com).

According to the result of the study released by the organization, Ekiti, which has recorded two cases of COVID-19 came second. It shares the second position with Ebonyi State which has not recorded any case. Both Ekiti and Ebonyi states scored nine out of the out of ten points to share the second spot on the response index.

Lagos State, which has highest number of cases in the country, came first on the COVID-19 State Response Index. Lagos got all the 10 points (10/10) to top the chart. Stears Business described the index as “a dynamic measure of each state’s aggressiveness in combating the virus.”

Criteria used to rate the states on the index include the government’s action on restriction of movement to prevent the spread, closure of borders, ordering of lockdown and enactment of emergency law to ensure compliance.

Others are deployment of security personnel, existence of isolation centres, availability of added ventilators, announcement of plans of small medium enterprise grants and giving of cash and food handouts to vulnerable residents.

Ekiti didn’t get all the 10 points because it is yet to get a test centre for COVID-19 unlike Lagos which met all the parameters. But setting up a test centre is exclusively the duty of the Nigeria Centre for Decease Control, (NCDC).

At the bottom of the table are Kebbi and Kano states with three points each.Meanwhile. Governor Fayemi has lauded the state’s health officials for the professional manner they are helping to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the state.